Five Sails Restaurant & Back to Bella Gelateria !

My friend J told me that he originally had Dine Out plans at the Five Sails Restaurant that were cancelled several weeks ago when we caught up over bubble tea. Hearing his disappointment about how much he had anticipated the lobster on their menu, and considering how much I adore lobster, we made reservations for four last Wednesday to try this much talked about lobster.

The feel of the restaurant is quite elegant and the ocean view makes for a rather intimate vibe, which is likely the reason they are usually a wedding banquet venue pick. Our servers and waiters were not only friendly but were fairly occupied with ensuring that we enjoyed our meal, cracking the odd joke here and there, which made the overall experience enjoyable. Now onto the food... I loved the tuna tartar; the sesame and avocado were delicious together, but one criticism I had was that I didn`t really taste the tuna. It was still a scrumptious appetizer, I was just surprised at how hard it was to distinguish the taste of tuna. Then in the main course, the fish in the lobster dish overtook a lot of the flavors for me. The sauce that normally accompanies this course likely masks that... but since the sauce contains onions, I don`t have an opinion on it. I`m sure with the sauce to complete the dish, it was really quite yummy. I did enjoy the dessert immensely too, so essentially the other courses on the menu made up for this one... But while the menu itself looked and tasted delicious, I admit to a larger appetite and the proportions were a lot smaller than I like... But oh well.

Here are the pictures that will finish off my thoughts on this $38 Dine Out experience:

A complimentary sampling of their lobster salad.

An assortment of complimentary bread.

Roasted Vegetable Terrine: Chef's salad of organic & seasonal greens.

Ahi Tuna Tartar: Crispy wontons, avocado & ginger scented sesame oil dressing.

Catch! : 1/2 Atlantic lobster, weathervane scallop and daily fresh catch.

A closer view of my lobster.

Banana & Chocolate Tango: Chocolate ganache, banana infused vanilla mousse w homemade vanilla bean ice cream.

Luxe Lemon Mille-Feuilles: Delicate layers of phyllo pastry and lemon cream, lemon parfait and fresh berry puree.

Following our meal at Five Sails, we realized how close we were to Bella Gelateria. And I had been meaning to return for another hot chocolate, so there was no better opportunity. Rushing to beat their closing time (we had a late reservation at Five Sails due to the high volumes of people wanting to try their menu), we hurried across the street and down the block to grab ourselves some hot chocolate and gelatooo.

Back to Bella Gelateria for their London Foggy ($7.50).

We really did not need to worry because while they do close at ten, they struggled to turn away customers for long after we had arrived and purchased our hot chocolate. This time, I got the London Foggy to go. It is their Earl Grey hot chocolate. I found that the dark chocolate in combination with what must be their Earl Grey gelato was a nice blend. They separate the gelato bar by putting it in a separate cup for you when you get your drink to go: this was nice compared to the previous post where the gelato bar was placed on the saucer right next to the warm cup of hot chocolate (melting it). It was just the thing to finish off my downtown experience that night! Did I mention that I actually really like their to go cups? Yummy. I hope they bring this back next year :)

Leonidas Chocolates, Hapa Izakaya & Bella Gelateria !

More hot chocolate hopping with K, as well as sampling Hapa Izakaya`s Dine Out menu along the way because the three locations today were all no more than a block away from each other. How convenient, right?

Leonidas Chocolates, right by the Convention Centre!

Our first stop today was my first stop last year, at Leonidas Chocolates [click]. Now in the dark I did not see much of a point in attempting to get a photo of the store front with my point-and-shoot, but Leonidas has one point that is kind annoying for first-time-goers which is their lack of outdoor signage (they are between the "EzeeRiders" and the Subway, which both have super bright signs).

Jamaican Kiss with Liege waffle ($7.35) & Boho Secret with Marron chocolate ($7.35).

Interestingly enough, their festival hot chocolate menu (like last year) had more drink options than the list on Cityfood [click]. Not that I`m complaining. Each drink came with a choice of a macaron, Liege waffle, cheesecake, scoop of ice cream or a piece of chocolate. I had the Boho Secret hot chocolate, described on the menu as a "72% dark Belgian chocolate flavoured with peppermint, turmeric, honey and pepper." It was definitely dark chocolate alright and I could taste the peppermint in the aftertaste. The honey was visible in the cup but perhaps I could have mixed it better because I really couldn`t taste it as I drank it. Though it looks small, I picked a chocolate because Leonidas is a chocolate shop and I really liked the Marron which is a praline and coffee chocolate. Delicious but it will unsurprisingly alter the taste of your hot chocolate if you eat it before you drink your hotcho.

Closer look at the Jamaican Kiss hot chocolate at Leonidas.

K had the Jamaican Kiss hot chocolate, which was said to be "Belgian milk chocolate flavoured with coconut, pineapple and rum" with a Liege waffle. We agreed that we could taste the pineapple (along with bits of the fruit itself) and of course the chocolate and I might have detected a hint of rum, but the coconut taste was either missing or completely overpowered. Both drinks were not too thick, not too sweet, nor too strange of a combination of flavours and enjoyable. The guy behind the counter was very polite and friendly, and even offered us a tasting of their raspberry macaron, how sweet! You can still try these, and all the drinks at Leonidas because they are offered daily through until Valentine`s day :)

Hapa Izakaya at their Coal Harbour location.

Having meant to try Hapa Izakaya for years since I`ve had a number of missed events there, I was delighted to see it on the list of restaurants participating in Dine Out Vancouver. They are offering, rather than a three course menu, a four course menu [click] for $28. Here`s what we had, without further text needed really. Everything was delicious, and the proportions were just right (actually the beef tataki was a little on the small side, just a little).

First course! Beef Tataki: lightly seared AAA beef with sesame-chili sauce (we both had this).

Second course! Oyster tempura served with miso-vinegar and shiso (I did not have the pickled red onion that K did).

Third course! I had the bacon wrapped scallops: BC scallops, bacon, soy-butter sauce with mixed greens.

K`s third course! Grilled chuck steak: Shiyo-Kouji marinated AAA chuck steak, fresh cucumbers and chili oil.

Fourth course! K`s arrived first, yaki udon with stir-fried chicken and vegetables.

And my final course! The seafood ishiyaki with scallops, halibut, ika, soy stock, cheese, shiso and yuzu skin.

One thing that I definitely learned at Hapa Izakaya is that most of their dishes had some form of onions. It is unlikely I have ever mentioned the allergy so I will allow my friends who know me well to laugh as they imagine my pain as I picked them out carefully. I admit I gave up on the last dish. On a final note, I enjoyed the progressive increase in the size of proportion they gave per course, it was a very satisfying meal. 

Monkey`s Uncle ($7.50) and Black Magic ($7.50) with To Die For banana bread at Bella Gelateria.

Our final stop for the night, Bella Gelateria [click] was a block away. Since my discovery of this gelato shop last year for this festival, I have been back for their gelato several times. This year, they had these gBars to accompany their hot chocolates. The 'g' presumably standing for gelato, because they are frozen gelato bars that you mix into your hot chocolate (I don`t know if you can tell, but they`re served right next to the hot chocolate which melts them pretty quick so mix mix mix!). K had the Black Magic which was a black sesame and matcha gBar with an 85% dark hot chocolate and white hot chocolate mix. I had the Monkey`s Uncle which was a banana bread flavoured gBar with a 64% dark hot chocolate. The gBars were actually quite delectable by themselves and make these hot chocolates a little more unique than just a drink that is entirely prepared for you. The To Die For banana bread was super moist and I got a progression of flavours, beginning with cinnamon, salt, a nutty flavour followed by banana of course, that just melted in my mouth. Good as always! I am very tempted to be back to Bella Gelateria if I get the chance. Oh they do serve all their drinks through to Valentine`s day as well, and you can have just the hot chocolate without the gBars if that is what you prefer.

Leonidas Chocolates (Vancouver Convention Centre)
#29-1055 Canada Place, Vancouver
Monday - Friday : 10a to 7p
Saturday : 10a to 6p
Sunday : 11a to 6p

Bella Gelateria

1001 West Cordova Street, Vancouver

Monday - Thursday : 8a to 10p

Friday : 8a to 11p

Saturday : 11a to 11p

Sunday : 11a to 10p

I had a great night tonight in this small three block radius downtown. Definitely going to return to Bella Gelateria, just a matter of when and hope to get better photos next time ;) Good night everybody, and happy hot chocolate hopping!